Last week, a case of importance for state aid law and competition economics was heard in the Supreme Court in Norway. The Supreme Court will determine whether Frogn Municipality’s provision of capital to a commercial and municipally owned gym in 2021 and 2022 constituted illegal state aid under EEA regulations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
State aid rules are intended to promote the efficient allocation of resources and ensure competitive markets by preventing the public sector from giving firms artificial and unfair competitive advantages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The issue has previously been addressed in the District Court and the Court of Appeal. In connection with these legal proceedings, Oslo Economics prepared a report, commissioned by Virke, that assessed whether the capital injections in 2021 and 2022 would pass a state aid market investor test \u2013 i.e., whether the capital injections would yield an expected positive return with a reasonable required return on capital. The report was also discussed during the proceedings in the Supreme Court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n